Axe 3.

4 Release Notes
This document provides information about the Axe Test Automation Platform from Odin Technology.

System Requirements
Software Microsoft .NET Frame or! v".# $%P&' and v(.) *nternet Explorer +.) or later, Firefox, %afari or -hrome $for vie ing Axe results and reports' Microsoft Excel .))" or later $for editing test data tables' Supported Operating Systems Microsoft /indo s 0P $%ervice Pac! "' Microsoft /indo s .))"1.))2 Microsoft /indo s 3ista Microsoft /indo s + $x241x4(' Microsoft /indo s 2 $x241x4(' Supported Test Execution Tools 5P /in6unner $7..' 5P 8uic!Test Pro $&&.)' *9M 6ational Functional Tester $2..' *9M 6ational 6obot $+.)' Micro Focus1-ompu are 8A6un $(.7' Micro Focus1-ompu are TestPartner $4."' Micro Focus19orland %il!Test -lassic $.)&)' Microsoft 3isual %tudio $.)&), .)&.' /atiN $..&.)' /atir $..).&' :Early 6elease; < %AP =>* $+..)' :Early 6elease; %elenium $...#' :Early 6elease; < < 6uby $&.2.+' should be used for 6uby *ntegrations $/atir and %elenium'. Note that there is a bug in version ).+.7 of the ruby in".ole library hich prevents the Axe AP* being loaded. To or!?around this install version ).+.. of in".ole.so. N9 @ *ntegrations classed as :Early 6elease; provide a previe of Axe or!ing ith a particular technology and are subAect to change. There is no formal documentation, ho ever guides are provided for the follo ing $to be found in the docs' folderB

Axe Cava 6untime -TP.pdf, Axe %AP=>* -TP.pdc, %elenium-TP=uide.pdf Supported Test anagement Tools 5P Application Difecycle Management $8uality -enter' &&.) %P" *9M 6ational 8uality Manager $".).&' Micro Focus1-ompu are 8AEirector Microsoft Test Manager $.)&), .)&.' t?Plan 4."

!nstallation
! "ORTANT # $ninstall all pre%ious installations of Axe. !f t&e Excel Add!n &as 'een installed t&en t&is must 'e uninstalled first. ! "ORTANT ( !f you &a%e configured Axe to access remote networ) licenses t&en uninstalling Axe will remo%e t&e Admin *ontrol *enter +A**, settings. "lease ma)e a note of any existing settings prior to upgrading. A** can 'e accessed from Axe -icense anager. 6un setup.exe. *f you do not have.NET Frame or! (.) installed then setup ill automatically do nload and install it from the Microsoft ebsite. A reboot ill be reFuired then the installation ill continue as normal. /hen Axe is started for the first time you ma!e get a further prompt advising that .NET (.) is still not installed. This can occur if setup only installed the .NET -lient Profile. *n this case the remaining .NET Frame or! components can be do nloaded from the lin! provided. Once Axe is installed refer to the Axe >ser =uide for further information.

.iewing /Acti%e *ontent0 # security considerations %iewing Axe Results1 O'2ect and $sing Odin"ortal

ap Statistics

Microsoft has improved security features in recent service releases of Microsoft /indo s 0P %P., due to this Active -ontent is no disabled by default in *nternet Explorer in some environments. Axe uses Active -ontent to enable the dynamic features of the Axe 6esults, ObAect Map %tatistics and the OdinPortal sample. *n order to use these features of Axe, Active -ontent needs to be enabled by follo ing the simple steps belo B &. .. ". (. #. Open *nternet Explorer. %elect GToolsH*nternet OptionsIJ from the Menu 9ar. %elect the GAdvancedJ Tab. %croll do n until you find the %ecurity section mar!ed ith a Padloc!. Ensure that GAllo active content to run in files on My -omputerJ is chec!ed.

This ill need to be performed for each >ser on a particular or!station. N9 @ *n some /indo s 0P environments this ill need to be enabled by follo ing the instructions in the follo ing Microsoft article. Please contact your system administrator if you unsure about any of the steps

involved in the articleB

httpB11support.microsoft.com1default.aspxKscidL!bMen?usM"&#7""

.ista34indows5 $ser Account *ontrol +$A*, Support The follo ing are recommended for Axe running on 3ista1/indo s+ ith >A- enabledB

&. *nstallation ? Axe must be installed ith Administration 6ights. .. Dicence ? Entering of Dicence Neys through the Axe Tools Menu reFuires that Axe be run as an Administrator, please see 3ista 5elp for further information on running applications ith Administration rights. ". %ample proAects cannot be run from the *nstall folder on -B and must be copied to a folder ith full access rights. *f running 5arnessEemo then the OE9- datasource ill also need changing. !nstallation of Axe Excel Add!n The Axe Excel Add*n reFuires a separate installation and is not included in the core Axe M%*. This can be run from /indo s explorer by navigating to the follo ing locationB OAxe *nstallation FolderHPPac!agesPAxeExcelAdd*n From here running setup.exe ill install the Axe Excel Add*n and pre?reFuisites. The Add*n can also be installed from the Axe entry in the %tart Menu in /indo s, underB %tart H Axe H *nstall Axe Excel Add *n N9 ? The Axe Excel Add*n is installed for all users on a particular machine by default. For users of Terminal services environments including -itrix it may be necessary to ma!e an additional 6egistry Ney entry to ma!e this available for all users. This is only recommended for advanced indo s users or administrators and that bac!ups are made prior to any registry updates. The update can be performed as follo sB &. Dog in as an Administrator. .. After installation of the Axe Excel Add*n navigate to the installation folder. ". Eouble -lic! the file AxeExcelAdd*n5NDM6egEntries.reg (. This ill ma!e updates to the 6egistry to ma!e the Axe Excel Add*n available for all users.

4&at6s New in Axe 3.47

The highlights of release areB

Ne test management tool integration for *9M 6ational 8uality Manager $68M' Ne test execution tool integration for %AP=>* %upport for Microsoft 3isual %tudio and TF% .)&. Enhancements to Microsoft TF% integration $Axe Manager' includingM automated test association and results import Over #) other minor enhancements and improvements

$pgrading from Axe 3.3

Axe anager *ommand -ine +axemanagercmd,

The Axe Manager command line interface has been changed to ma!e it more specific for each individual ADM tool integration. Any existing batch files that use axemanagercmd ill need updating to use the revised parameters. The main change is the addition of a mandatory option of Q1almtoolR to specify hich ADM tool is to be used. For further details and usage run Qaxemanagercmd 1KR. *t is also possible to generate the command?lines direct from the Axe Manager user?interface. NoteB there are some instances in the Axe documentation here the old command?line parameters may be referenced. icrosoft !ntegrations The introduction of 3isual %tudio .)&. support in Axe ".( has resulted in some minor changes to the Microsoft integrationsB The TOOD 9uild-onfig entries for -oded>* have been changed to -oded>*.)&)-%harp and -oded>*.)&)3isual9asic. Note that the old settings ill still function $and default to 3%.)&)' but they are no deprecated and ill be removed in a future release. The Axe dlls for -oded>* and TF% have been renamed from Odin.Axe.*nt-oded>* and Odin.Axe.*ntTF% to Odin.Axe.TE0.-oded>* and Odin.Axe.ADM.TF% respectively. The namespaces have also been modified accordingly. This may reFuire updates in the local Action Map if SStest*nit has been overridden ie. OdinTechnology.Axe.TE0.-oded>* and OdinTechnology.ADM.TF%.

-icense 8ey Acti%ation

Axe automatically installs ith a ") day trial license. *n order to continue using Axe after the end of the trial period you ill need to purchase and activate a license via the Axe Dicense Manager. Existing Axe users ith version ".& or earlier ill need to reFuest ne licenses !eys from Odin supportB supportTodintech.com %ee the Axe Dicensing =uide for further information.

8nown "ro'lems and -imitations

9eneral Errors in the underlying test execution tool$s' can be perceived as errors in Axe. 9e sure to read all 6elease Notes16eadMe relating to the tool$s' being used. Avoid using large data values $e.g. H .## bytes' in sub?test tables. Although Axe has not limit on the siUe of data it can cause problems ith some execution tools e.g. /in6unner Avoid using the Fuote character $G' in test and sub?test descriptions. This can cause problems at run time ith some execution tools. An alternative option is to escape the Fuote using the appropriate character for the execution tool. E.g. a bac!slash for /in6unner or a second Fuote for TestPartner. >se of custom toolbars in *nternet Explorer $e.g. =oogle' may affect the 9ro ser 9asestate functions Exported /ord documentation is not supported for 5indi. :4#'it Operating Systems

 Not all supported third party automation tools support 4( bit operating systems, please consult
the appropriate tool documentation. icrosoft !ntegration -oded >* Firefox support is currently Early 6elease as the Firefox is no longer officially supported by Microsoft. Rational Ro'ot !ntegration 6obot has a limit on the length of the path for called scripts. Therefore longer $H .) chars' Test %uite names should be avoided OdinPortal Test OP>E#&) in AdvancedTests is a !no n fail due to limited support for %PAN obAects in 6obot. Test"artner !ntegration %ome 0P platforms are configured to run all instances of *nternet Explorer in a process, this can cause unpredictable behavior in the Axe/eb9ro ser-loseAll$' Function in Axe/eb. ;ARun !ntegration OdinPortal Test OP>E#&) in AdvancedTests is a !no n fail due to limited support for %PAN obAects in 8A6un. Sil)Test !ntegration %il!Test does not natively support interaction ith 5TMD %PAN obAects, this causes test OPD*#.) to fail in the OdinPortal test system. The OdinPortal -loseAll9ro sers test does not close bro sers as a result of the %il!Test basestate mechanism. The basestate mechanism ill open a ne bro ser at the follo ing points if one is not presentB hen a test fails, at the beginning and at the end of a test script. At the end of the -loseAll9ro sers test, the basestate mechanism ill open a ne bro ser. Sil)Test3;T" !ntegration This only affects or!stations here both 8TP and %il!Test are installed. *f a previous test run has been performed ith 8TP, the or!station must be rebooted before executing tests ith %il!Test. %il!Test ill not close cleanly unless this has been performed. 4atiN !ntegration /atiN reFuires the standard Microsoft *E *nterop dll Microsoft.mshtml.dll to be present at run time. This dll ill already be installed in the =lobal Assembly -ache $=A-' on most machines. *t is also automatically installed ith the Axe Excel Add*n. *f for any reason the dll is not in the =A- and you cannot install the Add*n then you can add a reference to it in the Axe 9uild configuration file. E.g. PO%T9>*DEA6=>MENT% 1referenceBV-BPProgram FilesP/atiNP..).#)Pnet(.)PbinPMicrosoft.mshtml.dllV Selenium !ntegration OdinPortal test OPD*4)& fails due to a bug in %elenium. %ee httpB11Aira.openFa.org1bro se1%ED? #&7 Axe anager <" ;uality *enter !ntegration There are !no n issues ith the 5P 8uality -enter OTA-lient Dibrary running under >A- in 3ista that in certain circumstances ill lead to AxeManager not or!ing ith 8-. Axe Excel Add!n $ninstall *f the *nstallation folder for the Axe Excel Add*n is deleted manually and an uninstall is attempted

this ill fail. >se the 6epair option to restore the folder and attempt the uninstall again. 4indows =es)top Searc& The /indo s Ees!top %earch *ndexing %ervice ill detect periods of user inactivity and start to catalogue recently changed files. Euring long test runs the P- can appear inactive triggering the search indexer to catalogue test6esults.xml during hich the file is loc!ed. This can lead to some test results to appear as Not6un on an intermittent basis. *t is strongly recommended that /indo s Ees!top %earch is disabled during test execution. *itrix "resentation Ser%er %4.> The Axe user interface may not render correctly hen accessed through -itrix Presentation %erver (.) particularly ith reference to the advanced options on the 9uild and 6un tabs. Axe has been tested ith later versions of -itrix and renders correctly. *&rome :.> or later *n order to use -hrome version 4.) or later to vie Axe bro ser output -hrome must be started ith the ??allo ?file?access?from?files option. Axe can be configured to specify this by default hen the bro ser is invo!ed from Axe $e.g. for vie ing test results'. Modify the follo ing vie er entries in Axe-onfig.xml as follo sB OsystemHObuildH OstatsSvie er argumentsLV??allo ?file?access?from? filesVHchromeO1statsSvie erH OsystemHOresultsH O vie er argumentsLV??allo ?file?access?from?filesVHchromeO1 vie erH

Resol%ed *ases in 3.4.>

(7.B Test results not updated if test or!boo! filename contains ampersand Fixed. 74#B Add a lin! to the Odin eb?site in the About box Din! to .odintech.com added. &+#7B 6emove deprecated WconfigW option from Axe-md >se the 1buildconfig option to build tests ith axecmd. &7)+B NP/ Al ays creates a default basestate of 5ome in Tests template Fixed. &74+B Add *mport 6esults support to AxeManager for TF% Ne feature added. %ee the Axe Microsoft *ntegration =uide for full details. ."44B Assign Axe test to /or! *tem hen importing to TF% Ne Associated Automation feature added to Axe Manager. %ee the Axe Microsoft *ntegration =uide for full details. .4"#B NP/ ? ma!e default proAect basestate a ebsite The Axe Ne ProAect /iUard no defaults to creating a eb proAect for all test tools that support bro ser testing. .2+(B -annot run Axe tests from command?line unless absolute path to tpA Fixed. ")"#B Ne test execution integration ith %AP A ne test execution tool integration for %AP =>* has been added. %ee the Axe %AP =>* *ntegration

=uide $Axe %AP=>* -TP.pdf' for full details. ")2+B Allo boolean formatted values in 6un-onfig file 9oolean settings no longer need to be formatted as text cells in Excel. ".)7B Add ability to set /or! *tem fields ith default values during TF% Test *mport Ne feature added. %ee the Axe Microsoft *ntegration =uide for further details. ".()B /or!sheet naming truncation behavior is confusing The Axe Excel Add*n handling of long or!sheet names has been improved. ".(2B 8- 6esults >pload ? %creenshots could be uploaded as attachments %creenshots are no al ays added via Axe Manager. This can be disabled hen using axemanagercmd. ".(7B 6un monitor does not expand for long test *Es The idth of the Axe 6un Monitor can be changed by specifying a ne value in the Axe 6un -onfiguration file via the ne MON*TO6/*ET5 option. The default is ")) pixels. ".+)B AxeMain AP* Eocumentation doesnt state if %aveFile over rites or appends The documentation clarifies that %aveFile over rites an existing file. ".+2B 8TP 9ro ser 9asestate function needs additional 8- title for >nix 8- instance Fixed. ".2#B AxeManager 8uality -enter connection screen incorrectly sho s W-onnectedW Fixed. *n certain exception situations Axe Manager incorrectly displayed a connected status. ".7)B Ne test management integration *9M 6ational 8uality Manager $68M' Ne feature added. %ee the Axe *9M *ntegration =uide for full details. "")&B Eisable /elcome screen if launching Axe >* by double?clic!ing a .TPC file Fixed. "")#B Enhancement 6eFuest ? datasource substitution variable Axe supports the follo ing ne substitution variables in the Action MapM XEATA%O>6-EX, XEATA%O>6-ESNEYX, XEATA%O>6-ES3AD>EX. "")2B Add support for 3%.)&. -oded>* Axe no supports both 3%.)&) and 3%.)&. -oded>* tests. %ee the Axe Microsoft *ntegration =uide for further details. ""&+B Add V%ho AxeManager-md DineV button on Axe Manager >* All the main operations in Axe Manager no have a W%ho AxeManager-md ParametersW button. This ill generate and axemanagercmd command?line from the current settings. "".(B Axe does not install on /indo s 2 Axe can no be installed on /indo s 2. ""(+B 8TP Action Maps need %ilverlight controls added -ontrols added to 8TPAxe.ActionMap.xml and 8TPNative.ActionMap.xml. ""4#B >se P6OCE-TE*6 instead of A0EE*6 for OdinPortal ebsite The OdinPortal sample Axe proAect is no completely self?contained and independent from the Axe installation folder. ""44B 6emove reFuirement for OE9- datasource for 5arnessEemo

The 5arnessEemo sample Axe proAect is no completely self?contained and independent from the Axe installation folder. There is no longer a reFuirement for a E%N to be configured in order to run the database tests. ""4+B Axe methods to get run config options should parse standard Axe variables The maAority of the standard Axe Action Map substitution variables can no also be used in 6un -onfiguration files. ""+4B %upport test description ith multiple lines Axe can no handle line?brea!s in test descriptions. The substitution variable XNDX is also supported. ""27B Cava Eependency -hec! not or!ing for -OM api Fixed. Tests ith dependency chec!ing no or! for Cava integrations using -OM $Cacob'. "(&&B >pdate %elenium to latest version Axe uses the latest version of %elenium at the time of release. %ee the Axe 6elease Notes for the exact version. "(&+B %elenium -hrome 6un-onfig should default to a live OdinPortal The OdinPortal sample ill no run Wout of the boxW ith the %eleniumS-hrome 6un -onfiguration. Note that this uses the live OdinPortal at .axesamples.com and not the local version in the Axe proAect. "(&2B >pdate AxeManager >* to provide consistent error report and fix misc bugs There are various overall improvements to the Axe Manager user?interface. "(.7B Add support for 3%.)&. AxeManager1TF% 9oth 3%.)&) and 3%.)&. are no fully supported by Axe. %ee the Axe Microsoft *ntegration =uide for full details. "("4B AxeManager >* sho full TF% Test %uite path Axe Manager sho s the full Test %uite path in the Export 6un and *mport 6esults tabs. "("+B AxeManager TF% Export 6un ? use %elect Test %uite control The Test %uite can no be selected from a tree instead of the using needing to !no the full path to the Test %uite. "((&B Eefault 6un-onfig not found hen running Axe from 3% if it has xlsx extension Fixed. "(++B %upport D*96A6Y build config option for 39%cript integrations All test tool integrations that use 39%cript as the scripting language support D*96A6Y in the Axe build configuration file for loading custom functions. Multiple D*96A6Y options can be specified. "(2)B Exception error in *mport Tests $Axe Manager' Fixed. Axe Manager fails cleanly if the *mport Test Eocumentation Folder is not valid. "(7(B NP/ for %elenium 6uby creates proAect that onRt build Fixed. The Ne ProAect /iUard no creates a valid %elenium test proAect. "#)#B 1axemerge should have Fuotes round the path PO%T9>*DEA6=>MENT% containing axemerge no or!s both ith and ithout Fuotes.

"#&4B AxeManager-md has inconsistencies in the options and a typo The AxeManager-md interface has been overhauled. 6un Waxemanagercmd 1KW to get full details. "#..B Text incorrect if connection to TF% attempted from AxeManager ith no M% tools installed

Fixed. The error message has been clarified. "#.2B 9uild and 6un config lists need to be sorted by name Fixed. /hen opening Axe proAects on a net or! share the lists did not al ays appear in order. "#""B Ne AxeManager-md s itch to specify ADM tool AxeManager-md no has an explicit W1almtoolW s itch to specify hich ADM tool integration is being used. "##4B Add ability to pass 5A%P arguments to the Axe installer The Axe installer can no ta!e %entinel 5A%P arguments via the A0E%ET>PL1haspBOargH option. e.g. A0E%ET>PL1haspB?nomsg "#44B Add ErrorProviders 1 exclamations 1 arnings across the board on AxeManager The error handling and tool tips in Axe Manager have been improved for all ADM integrations. "#4+B %et or!boo!Sexclusive to true by default for Mac1>nix Axe-onfig.xml no longer reFuires manual modification on >nix?based environments. "#2+B Eependency steps not reported correctly in 8Axe Manager no maps all Axe results codes to the most relevant 5P 8-1ADM status code. "#7(B *ncrease default siUe of Axe >* and ma!e build error more visible The default siUe of the main Axe user?interface has been enlarged. "4)"B Failed dependency chec!s create invalid results $Axe.6untime only' Fixed. Failed dependency chec!s no report as result code of WEependencyW instead of WAbortW. "4&)B *mprove and document results merge option from axecmd The axecmd results merge option $commandBmerge' is no documented. "4&#B Message box ith chec! box not centered Fixed. Axe >* errors are no centered on the main indo . "4&4B Tool tips for Dess buttons on 9uild and 6un tabs rong Fixed. "4.)B *mprove logging of Axe test steps in native 8TP results Axe no reports more detail on the native 8TP results logs. This also benefits 8TP results that are vie ed from 5P 8-1ADM. "4..B Eomain parameter not used in AxeManager-md for TF% The axemanagercmd login credentials for TF% no support an optional domain name in the form EOMA*NP>%E6. "4"&B /inTitle9ar is missing from -oded>* maps Fixed.

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Ac)nowledgements
%ome of the *cons used in Axe are courtesy of Mar! Cames ? httpB11 .famfamfam.com1lab1icons1sil!1 >sed under the -reative -ommons Attribution Dicence ? httpB11creativecommons.org1licenses1by1..#1

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